Diamonds form of carbon

Argye mine located in the Kimberley region 

in the far north east of Western Australia. 

Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s 

largest single producer of volume of 

diamonds.  However, due to low proportion 

of gem quality diamonds it is not the value 

leader.  It does produce 90-95% of the 

world’s supply of pink diamonds.   

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in 

Canada it is a very large mine.   It is located 

north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic 

Circle on an island.  The island is connected 

by an ice road.  It is also an important part of 

the regions economy employing more than 

700 people and producing more than 8 million 

carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP 

Billiton and located south of the artic circle 

in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  

The Ekati is Canada’s first operational 

diamond mine.     Diamonds mined here 

are sold under the Aurias trade name   

Authenticity is verified through Canada

Mark service.  CanadaMark service is also 

owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is located along the 

lower Orange River in South Africa.  It is 

owned and operated by Trans Hex.  The 

average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 

carats.   In 2004, this mine produced a 

78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that 

sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), 

as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was 

sold for over 1 million US dollars.

Merlin is the second of only two diamond 

mines in Australia.  No longer operating it 

was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker 

Resources, who has explored the 

possibilities of reopening the mine.   

Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine.  

It us located 240 Km west of 

Francistown.  The mine is owned by 

“Debswana” which is a partnership 

between DeBeers and the government of 

Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a 

week.  It maintains pre primary and 

primary schools for its employee’s children.  

There is also a 100 bed hospital and game 

park.  This mine began production in 1971 

and is the oldest mine owned by the 

Debswana Company.

The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South 

Africa produced the largest gem diamond 

ever in 1905.  The Cullinan Diamond 

weighed 3,106.75 carats.  This mine also 

produced the Golden Jubilee diamond 

which weighed 545.67 carats.  This mine is 

owned by the De Beers Company and was 

renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 

2003 in celebration of its centennial.

What Are Dirty Diamonds?

A dirty diamond is one of two things: a rough 

diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been 

cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are 

uncut and unpolished – hence, they are dirty. 

But that type of dirty diamond will soon be 

cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful 

jewel box in a display case. Then someone 

will purchase it, and before long, it will 

become a dirty diamond once again.

Diamonds become dirty. When you wash 

your hands with a diamond ring on, soap 

scum clings to it. When you put on hand 

lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your 

diamond earrings or necklace, and again, 

you get soap scum. In one short day, your 

brand new diamond could be dirty!

Purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner the 

same day that you purchase your diamond 

jewelry, and use it every single day, without 

fail. The clarity of the diamond changes 

when the diamond is dirty – it loses its 

sparkle. By taking one minute each day to 

clean your diamond jewelry, you can avoid 

this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!

Synthetic Diamonds

The first synthetic diamonds were produced 

by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic 

diamond is basically a rock that has the 

durability, refractive index and hardness of 

a natural diamond – but it is made by man. 

A synthetic diamond should not be 

confused with stimulant diamonds, such as 

glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite. 

Although the technology for synthetic 

diamonds came into play in 1954, no 

synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the 

market until the 1990’s. This was due to the 

fact that it took many years for General 

Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that 

could compare with the quality of a natural 

diamond – and when they figured out how to 

do it, they found that it cost more to produce 

a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and 

cut natural diamonds.

Finally, a small company by the name of 

Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to 

produce synthetic diamonds that were of the 

same quality as natural diamonds, at a 

cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces 

synthetic white diamonds, and colored 

diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for 

about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond, 

but there is a shortage of them, and they are 

hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic 

diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!

Selecting Diamonds

Diamonds are graded for certification by 

laboratories using grading criteria. Four of 

these criteria are critical to understand when 

making a diamond purchase or investment. 

Known as the “Four C’s” these criteria are: 

color, cut, clarity and carat.  

Color is the result of the composition of a 

diamond and it does not change. When a 

jeweler is describing the color of a diamond 

they are referring to the presence or absence 

of color in white diamonds. Because a 

diamond with no color allows maximum light 

to pass through, colorless diamonds are 

preferred for their sparkle.

Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality. 

Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The 

brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent 

on the cut. The different angles and the finish 

of a diamond determine its ability to reflect 

light and cause its brilliance and fire. 

Remember that the cut of a diamond can 

have an impact on its durability as well as its 

beauty. Some cutting faults can make a 

diamond prone to breakage. A diamond 

that is cut too thin can also cause light to 

leak out of the back and the diamond will 

lose some of the sparkle and appear not 

to shine. So, as you can see the Cut is 

probably the most important of the Four C’s.   

During the formation process, inner flaws, or 

inclusions occur in most diamonds. The 

number and size of these inclusions 

determine what is referred to as the clarity 

of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear 

create more brilliance and therefore are rarer 

and highly priced. To be considered

“flawless”, a diamond must have no surface 

or internal imperfections visible upon being 

viewed by a skilled diamond grader using 

10 power magnifications.

Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds 

are measured. One carat is equal to 200 

milligrams. A carat is divided into 100 

segments called points. 150 points would 

equal one and a half carats.  

When you go to the store to make that all 

important diamond purchase, do not be shy!  

Ask questions, get the answers needed to 

make an informed purchase. Shopping for 

certified diamonds enables you to make an 

informed selection. Knowing the “four C’s” 

allows you to comparison shop and purchase 

the best diamond at a fair price.  But, before 

making a purchase, shop around and decide 

what shapes and styles really appeal to you. 

Enjoy your diamond for years to come! 

Insuring Your Diamonds

Insuring a diamond takes a bit of thought, 

planning, and shopping around. Diamond 

insurance isn’t like purchasing car insurance. 

It is quite different. Depending on the state 

that you live in, there are basically three 

different types of policies that will cover 

diamonds, and all insurance policies that 

cover diamonds are considered Marine 

type policies. 

The first type of insurance policies for 

diamonds is an Actual Cash Value policy. 

If the diamond is lost or damaged beyond 

repair, the insurance company will replace 

the diamond at today’s market value, no 

matter how much you paid for the diamond 

to begin with. This type of insurance policy 

for diamonds actually is not that common.

The most common type of insurance for 

diamonds is Replacement Value insurance. 

The insurance company will only pay up to a 

fixed amount to replace the diamond that was 

lost or damaged beyond repair. This does not 

mean that they will pay that amount – it means

 that they will pay up to that amount. In most 

cases, the diamond can be replaced at a 

lower cost. 

The third type of coverage offered for 

diamonds is Agreed Value. This is 

sometimes called ‘Valued At.’ This type of 

coverage is very rare. In the event that the 

diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair,

 the insurance company simply pays you the 

amount that you and the company agreed 

upon. This is the best type of insurance to 

have, but it is rarely offered. If you can’t get 

Agreed Value coverage, Actual Cash Value

coverage should be your next choice.

Your rates will be determined by the value of 

the diamond, the type of coverage that you

select, and the area that you live in. If you live 

in an area with a high crime rate, you can 

expect to pay more for your diamond 

insurance coverage. It is important to 

remember that insurance agents are not 

qualified jewelers, and jewelers are not 

qualified insurance agents. It is best to get 

a certificate for your diamond, and to 

provide the insurance company with a copy 

of that certificate. This leaves the insurance 

company less room for arguments over the 

actual value of the diamond.

Don’t rely on separate coverage to cover 

your diamond. For instance, if you diamond 

is stolen from your home, it is probably 

covered on your home owner’s insurance 

policy – but the diamond probably won’t 

always be in your home, and once it leaves 

your home, there is no coverage. 

How to Spot A Fake Diamond

In this world of advanced technology it is 

almost impossible to simply look at a 

diamond and determine whether it is real or 

not – especially if you don’t know much 

about diamonds. There are some steps that 

you can take to avoid buying a fake diamond,

however.

First, only deal with reputable jewelers, and 

when you find a reputable jeweler, stick with 

them. Avoid buying diamonds or other 

jewelry from jewelers that you have never 

dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the 

certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists, 

walk away. 

Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake 

diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set 

in low quality metals. Take a close look at the 

stone. Fake diamonds are not durable – 

natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the 

most durable stone on the planet. Look for 

scratches or nicks. 

After purchasing a diamond, take it to 

another jeweler for appraisal. In fact, take it 

to two or three other jewelers for an appraisal 

to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly 

close. If you find that you have purchased a 

fake diamond, you may be accused of 

making a switch when you return to the store 

of your purchase; therefore, it is important to 

have a certificate for the diamond. No two 

stones are alike. 

How to Sell A Diamond

There are many reasons why you may want 

to sell a diamond that you own. Perhaps 

you’ve gotten divorced, or you are strapped 

for cash. The reasons why don’t really matter 

– getting the best possible price is what 

counts! The way to obtain the best price 

for the diamond is to not be in a rush. Slow 

down, and carefully consider all of your 

options – there are many.

First, have the diamond appraised. In fact, 

have it appraised by two or three jewelers to 

get an accurate idea of the diamonds value. 

Tell the appraiser that you want the Rapaport 

Value. This is the wholesale value of the 

diamond, and it basically tells you the highest 

price that you can sell your diamond for. If your 

diamond has no certificate, you should 

consider getting a certificate from GIA. This 

may help you get a better price for the 

diamond as well.

First, try to sell the diamond yourself, to 

people you know. Friends and family 

members may be interested. If you don’t have 

any luck with friends or family members, you 

should turn to outside sources. Absolutely 

avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer 

you about 10% of what the diamond is worth! 

Also avoid offers of selling the ring on 

consignment. There are many things that 

can go wrong, and there is no shortage of 

diamond scams – even in well known 

jewelry stores.

If the diamond is important, you should 

strongly consider auctioning it off through 

one of the famous auction houses, such as 

Christie’s or Sotheby’s. If it isn’t what is 

considered an ‘important’ diamond or a 

high-end diamond, you should try to sell it 

to an individual using classified ads, or even 

eBay. However, selling to an individual that 

you do not know could put you in danger – 

especially if the diamond is worth a lot of 

money.

Your final option should be a jewelry store. It 

is vital that you not let your diamond out of 

your sight while in the jewelry store – you 

might find that the diamond you walked in 

with is not the same diamond that you walk 

out with! The jeweler will try to tell you that 

your diamond is of poor quality or low 

weight. Inevitably, there will be some 

problem with the diamond. This is where 

your appraisal and/or certificate will come 

in handy. 

If the jeweler is fair, they will offer you 

between 60% and 80% of the value of the 

Rapaport Value. Do not accept anything less 

than this. Again, do not let the diamond out of

your sight until you have been paid for it. 

How to Clean your Diamonds

Through our day to day movements our 

diamonds get smudged and soiled.  Even 

when we are not wearing them, they collect 

dust.  Lotions, soaps, our natural skin oils, 

can cause film and grime on diamonds 

and inhibit their brilliance.  

Want to keep that Brilliance and Shine?   

Diamonds require cleaning so that maximum 

amounts of light can refract fiery brilliance.  

Remember that all it takes is a few minutes 

and a little care to keep that diamond as fiery 

as the day you first saw it.

You can use an small soft brush such as an 

eyebrow or lip stick brush and soap and 

water to clean your jewelry.  Simply make a 

bowl of warm sudsy water with a mild 

detergent and place your pieces in the 

mixture.  Then brush the diamonds with the 

soft bristles of the brush while they are in 

the suds.  You will need to make certain that 

you rinse them clear of the suds after 

cleaning them.  You can use a small kitchen 

strainer such as a tea strainer to contain 

them while rinsing under warm water.  Use 

a lint free cloth, or a jewelry polish cloth to 

pat them dry.

If your diamonds are in need of a stronger 

cleansing, you may want to soak them for 30 

minutes in a solution of half and half water and 

ammonia.  Once they have soaked for 30 

minutes, remove them and gently brush the 

mountings with a small brush.  Then replace 

the pieces to the solution and swish them 

around in the mixture before removing them 

to rinse and pat dry.   

If you find your self too busy to be mixing 

soaps and ammonias, many department 

stores sell liquid jewelry cleaners.  Most are 

kits, with everything you need included.  You 

need to read the labels to determine the one 

that is right for your diamonds and other 

jewelry. Read the complete directions and 

follow all the precautions. 

And if you find yourself more the 

“high-tech type”, even in your diamond 

cleaning routine, there are multiple ultrasonic 

cleansers on the market.  These machines 

use high-frequency to create a cleaning motion.  

All machines are not the same, so please read 

the instructions before using.

Only you can choose the cleaning method 

right for you.   But, it is essential to keep 

your jewelry clean to keep it brilliant and 

sparkling.  Between cleaning, try not to touch

your clean diamonds with your fingers or 

handle your jewelry by its edges. This will 

help maintain its shine and brilliance for 

longer periods. 

How to Care for Your Diamond

Caring for a diamond takes more than 

occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever, 

but they can be damaged if you are not 

careful. By learning how to properly care for 

your diamond, you will ensure that your 

diamond is indeed forever.

First, you should take your diamond jewelry 

to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the 

mountings and prongs that hold your 

diamond in place. Have him make any 

needed repairs. This will prevent your 

diamond from falling out of its setting and 

becoming lost.

Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or 

diamonds that are loose should be stored in 

a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box 

where it can be kept separate from other 

jewelry. Each piece should have its own 

compartment. This will keep diamonds from 

becoming scratched, and it will also keep 

your diamond from scratching other jewelry 

as well.

Remove your diamond jewelry when doing 

physical work. Diamonds can be chipped 

and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing 

your diamond to come into contact with 

bleach or other household cleansers – this 

can damage or change the color of the 

settings and mountings, and it may even 

irreversibly change the color of the 

diamond!

How to Buy Diamond Engagement Rings

There is much to consider when purchasing 

a diamond – especially diamond 

engagement rings! The tradition of 

presenting a woman with a diamond 

engagement ring when proposing began in 

1477 when Archduke Maximilian presented 

a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy – and 

in most cases, the woman you plan to 

propose to will expect a ring to accompany 

that proposal!

First, determine how much ring you can 

afford. Most people use the ‘two months 

salary’ rule. This means that the ring should 

cost the equivalent of two months of your 

current salary. Because you have other bills 

to pay, saving up this amount of money may 

take quite a bit of time. You should consider 

financing. Simply go to the jeweler of your 

choice and tell them that you plan to buy an 

engagement ring, and that financing will be 

necessary. Go ahead and get the credit 

check out of the way, find out what your 

payments will be, and how much of a down 

payment is required.

Now, have your mother, sister, or your 

girlfriends best friend take your girlfriend 

shopping, and make sure that they gaze at 

the engagement rings to get an idea of what 

she might like. Make sure that the jewelry 

store you buy the ring from will allow you to 

return the ring, if that is required, or allow 

your girlfriend to exchange it for another if 

she isn’t happy with it!

How Diamond Prices Are Determined

Pricing most products is quite easy. 

Determine how much it costs to make the 

item, how much it costs to market that item, 

and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more. 

Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t 

quite that simple. There are many factors 

that are considered when diamonds are 

priced.

Diamond prices are determined first by 

adding the cost of the rough diamond, the 

cost of cutting the diamond, and all other 

costs necessary to turn the rough diamond 

into a marketable diamond. Depending on 

the importance of the diamond, an 

independent company may be called in to 

certify the grade of the diamond based on 

color, cut, clarity, and weight.

At this point, the diamond becomes more 

expensive each time it changes hands, until 

it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is 

raised a bit more. Before reaching the 

retailer, however, the diamond must travel 

from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to 

the independent grading company, and 

then to the Primary market. Once it has 

reached the primary market, it will be 

purchased by diamond dealers and 

wholesalers, and from there it will be sold 

to retailers.

As you can see, the earlier you can purchase 

a diamond in the process, the lower the cost 

of the diamond will be – but not the value. 

The value is based on what the diamond will 

sell for in the market place – through a retailer.

If you own a diamond, and you have no idea 

how much it is worth, you can have it 

appraised, but the appraisal may not be 

accurate. You will be better off obtaining a 

certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute 

of America. With the information on this 

certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to 

accurately determine what your diamond is 

worth. 

There are also many diamond price 

calculators available. These can be found 

on the Internet, and many diamond dealers 

use these as well. You must realize, however, 

that before you can accurately price a 

diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report, 

you need to know quite a bit about diamonds, 

such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight 

– and how each of those aspects adds to the 

value of a diamond, or decreases the value of 

the diamond as the case may be. 

Again, you will be better off if you get a 

Diamond Grading Report on the diamond, 

and use that information to look up the price 

in one of the guides that the diamond cutting 

industry uses. This will give you the most 

accurate value of the diamond in your 

possession, or of the diamond you are 

considering purchasing. 

How Diamonds Are Mined

We seldom think about how the diamonds 

we wear came to us. Natural diamonds, as 

opposed to synthetic diamonds or fake 

diamonds, are mined from the earth. There 

are currently two methods of mining 

diamonds: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.

When pipe mining is used, the diamonds 

are extracted from the earth through volcanic 

pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These 

are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are 

put into the ground next to the pipes, and 

tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of

the pipe. The diamonds are not sorted out at 

the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of 

diamonds are brought out of the mine and 

moved to a screening plant for separation. 

The Alluvial mining method is done in 

riverbeds and on beaches. Walls are built to 

hold back the water and the sand on the bank 

or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the 

level of earth that diamonds can be found in 

is reached. Again, the diamonds are not 

sorted here. Instead, the sand that contains 

the diamonds is bulldozed into trucks, and 

taken to screening plants.  

How Diamonds Are Cut

In their most natural form, diamonds are – 

well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine,

 and in fact, look like nothing more than 

broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and 

then polished before it actually becomes a

thing of beauty.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round 

shapes. From the rounded shape, other 

shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes 

– but the shape is less important than the 

quality of the cutting that is being done. If 

the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light, 

and it will not sparkle and shine very well. 

Each facet of the diamond must be 

carefully cut into the geometrical shapes 

that allow the diamond to sparkle and 

shine, then the entire diamond is cut into 

a specific shape, such as an emerald cut 

or a princess cut diamond.

Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into 

a dop, which resembles a cup with another 

diamond – only a diamond is strong enough 

to smooth the edges of another diamond. 

Once the diamond has been cut and shaped, 

and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is 

polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing 

wheel.

Famous Diamonds

Among the most well known diamonds is the 

Hope.   This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond 

is currently on display at the Smithsonian.  

The legends of the ill-fortune and curse 

bestowed on the possessor of the Hope 

Diamond are many.  This diamond was 

donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The 

Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky 

110-carat rough.

The Dresden Green stands out among the 

natural colored diamonds. It is the largest 

green diamond in the world weighing 

40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large 

and has a natural green color with a slight 

blue overtone.  These facts make it virtually 

priceless.

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and 

weighs 9.01-carats.  This pink diamond was 

once owned by Louis XIII.

The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful 

canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 

in the rough (metric) carats discovered in 

either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa.  The 

gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary 

weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, 

was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor  ( Mountain of Light )  is now 

among the British Crown Jewels.  This 

diamond weighs 105.60 carats.  First 

mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have 

been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous 

peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored 

Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. 

It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990.  

Since this sale, it has been modified to a 

cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut.  This blue 

diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in 

the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal, 

South Africa.  

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered 

in the summer of 1963, in a South African 

diamond field.  This 198.28-carat fancy 

brown diamond appeared to be a light 

honey color in its rough state.  However, 

after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden 

brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt 

orange. 

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped 

69.42 carat diamond.  Cartier of New York 

purchased this diamond at an auction in 

1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next 

day Richard Burton bought the diamond 

for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the 

"Taylor-Burton”.   In 1978, Elizabeth 

Taylor put the diamond up for sale.  

Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 

each to view the diamond to cover the costs 

of showing it.  Finally, in June of 1979, the 

diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

Diamond Scams

When it comes to diamonds, there are 

numerous scams to avoid. Most scams are 

minor, but there are some major ones that 

come up from time to time concerning the 

buying and selling of diamonds. Scams 

occur simply because most people who buy 

diamonds – for whatever reasons – don’t 

know that much about diamonds. Therefore, 

they are easily fooled. 

A common scam that most jewelry stores 

participate in is the Carat Total Weight scam. 

The tag on the piece of jewelry, usually a ring, 

only states the total carat weight of all 

diamonds in the piece, instead of listing the 

total weights separately for each diamond. 

This leads consumers to believe that the main 

diamond in the piece is actually bigger than it 

is. Ask what the total carat weight of the center 

stone is. Also beware of fractions. Jewelry 

stores are allowed to round off diamond 

weights. This means that if the jeweler tells 

you that it is a ¾ carat diamond, it is 

probably between ½ and ¾ carat – but 

closer to ¾. 

Jewelry stores often run ‘fluorescence’ 

scams to varying degrees. Referring to a 

diamond as a blue-white diamond is such a 

scam. A blue-white diamond sounds very 

unique and special, but in fact, this type of 

diamond is of lesser quality – even though 

the jeweler will try to make you think you are 

getting something special. Jewelry stores 

also like to show their diamonds in bright 

lights. Lights make diamonds shine. Ask 

to see the diamond in a different, darker 

type of lighting as well.

Some truly unscrupulous jewelers target 

those who want appraisals on diamonds 

that were given to them as gifts or that were 

purchased elsewhere. They will try to tell you 

that the diamond is worthless, or worth less 

than it actually is worth – and offer to take it 

off your hands or trade it for a much better 

diamond, along with the cash to make up 

the difference. This is called low balling. 

Get a second, third, and even a forth opinion 

before taking any action.

Another common dirty trick is to switch the 

diamond you have chosen and paid for with 

one of lesser quality and value when you 

leave it to be set in a piece of jewelry, or 

leave a diamond ring to be sized. The only 

way to avoid this is to do business with one 

trustworthy jeweler. Avoid jewelers that you 

have not done business with in the past.

There are many more scams that jewelry 

stores commonly pull on unsuspecting 

consumers. Just use your best judgment, 

and purchase your diamonds with the 

utmost care and consideration.

Diamond Grading Reports

You’ve been told that having a certificate or 

a diamond grading report is important, and 

as a responsible consumer, you get one – 

unfortunately, you probably won’t understand 

a word of what is on that diamond grading 

report, unless you are a jeweler.

On the color grading scale, D, E, and F 

mean that the diamond has no color. G, H, 

and I means that it has very little color. J, K, 

and L means that the diamond has a slight 

yellow color. P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, and X 

means that the diamond is a darker shade 

of yellow. Z means that the diamond has a

 fancy color – other than white or yellow.  

On the color grading scale, D is the most 

valuable, and X is the least valuable – 

however diamonds that get a Z rating are

 the rarest and most expensive diamonds 

in the world.

There are many aspects to a grading report. 

Figuring it all out can be very confusing. You 

should talk to a jeweler you trust, and have 

them explain everything on the diamond 

grading report to you. 

Diamond Certificates

A diamond certificate is also known as a 

Diamond Grading Report. This report comes 

from the Gemological Institute of America 

(GIA), and you should require this report 

when you are purchasing a diamond.

With a diamond certificate, you can verify 

the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the 

diamond. You don’t have to worry about a 

diamond dealer telling you anything less than 

the truth, because the certificate comes 

from the GIA – not the dealer. You may be 

required to pay for the certificate, but the 

cost is usually low, and in many cases, it 

will help you negotiate a better price on the 

diamond – or keep you from purchasing a 

lower quality diamond altogether.

If you buy a high quality diamond, and then 

later decide to sell the diamond, you will 

need to have the certificate, or you will have 

a hard time selling it to someone else. 

Furthermore, you can use the Diamond 

Grading Report to look up the wholesale 

value of the diamond in question. Use the 

guide that is used by the diamond cutting 

industry.

With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading 

Report, there won’t be any doubts when you 

are trying to purchase a diamond. You can 

easily find out what the diamond is worth. 

This will prevent you from overpaying, and it 

can prevent a seller from under-charging as 

well. 

A copy of the Diamond Grading Report 

should be given to your insurance company 

as well, when you insure the diamond. This 

provides absolute, unquestionable proof of 

the value of the diamond should it be stolen 

in the future. Insurance companies cannot 

argue with the report.

Avoid diamond dealers who seem reluctant

to provide a certificate! Also avoid sellers 

who tell you that a certificate diamond will 

cost you more – the only additional cost 

should be the cost of the certificate, which 

is low. If the dealer doesn’t want to provide 

a certificate, then you don’t want to do 

business with that dealer.

Don’t accept certificates from Gemological 

Laboratories other than GIA. There are many 

fly-by-night Gemological labs these days, but 

in the end, GIA has been established as the 

most respectable and trustworthy – not to 

mention oldest – of the lot. So avoid dealers 

who don’t want to use GIA for certification 

purposes as well.

Don’t buy an expensive diamond without 

paying the extra cost of the certificate. If a 

dealer tries to convince you to make the 

purchase without the certificate, or if they 

want to use a company other than GIA, you 

can be sure that the dealer has probably 

greatly inflated the price of the diamond – 

they have something that they are hiding 

from you.

Diamond Brands and What They Mean

Diamonds are one of the few products that 

simply cannot be ‘branded.’ Even though 

there are different cuts, different grades, and 

different values placed on each and every 

diamond in existence, no diamond is any 

specific brand – just as gold is not a specific 

brand. 

Branding is actually based on who owns the 

diamond. For instance, if DeBeers owns the 

diamond, it is a DeBeers Diamond – but it is 

still just a diamond. If the diamond was cut by 

a specific well known cutter, then it might be 

branded in that way as well – but it usually 

isn’t. It is still branded based on who owns it 

at the time. So basically, when it comes down 

to it – diamond brands mean absolutely 

nothing at all. 

Do not allow a jeweler to try to talk you into 

paying an exorbitant price on a diamond 

because it is a specific brand. This is a bit 

of trickery used by unscrupulous jewelers 

when they know that they are dealing with 

people who don’t know much about 

diamonds. Remember that diamonds are 

not actually branded – unless mother nature 

has her own brand!

Colored Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds are all the rage 

these days.  Gemologists have developed 

new ways to create versions that are 

affordable for the average person - by 

treating less desirable diamonds. These 

less desirable diamonds are treated with 

irradiation followed by intense heat.  This 

turns brown and yellowish diamonds into 

beautifully colored diamonds that you can 

afford.  This produces stunning greens, 

blues, yellows, reds, purples and other 

colors.  These colors are considered 

permanent, but there is a possibility 

they could change during repairs if a high 

heat is used.

Treatments like irradiation make it possible 

for more people to own these vividly colored 

diamonds. Most natural colored diamonds 

are rare and also extremely expensive. When 

shopping for colored diamonds you need to 

assume that any affordable fancy color 

diamond has been treated.  Ask about the 

stones origin and request to view a lab 

certificate to verify authenticity.

Synthetic colored diamonds are another 

option if owning a colored diamond is 

something you desire but cannot quite afford. 

They are real diamonds, but they are created 

in a lab.

Natural fancy color diamonds get their 

coloring from different trace elements present 

in the stones, such as nitrogen, which 

produces a yellow diamond.  Diamonds can 

be colored by exposure to radiation during its 

creation.  An example of a diamond affected 

by radiation is a Green diamond.

Another way that a natural colored diamond 

gets color is by its inclusions.  Regarded as 

flaws and undesirable in a colorless diamond, 

inclusions give unique tones and brilliant 

flashes of color in a fancy color diamond.  

Remember that Natural fancy colored 

diamonds are very expensive, any colored 

diamond labeled to be sold as natural should

be accompanied by a certificate from a 

respected grading lab. 

A "fancy" diamond is a natural diamond that 

has color.  These colors vary from red, green, 

purple, violet, orange, blue and pink – and 

most shades between.  Fancy color shades 

vary from faint to intense. 

The most famous diamonds in the world are 

Color diamonds.  The Tiffany Diamond, 

which is yellow and the Hope Diamond which 

is blue are colored diamonds.    Color 

diamonds have an amazing financial track

record.  The value has never decreased on 

wholesale level in more than 30 years.  Blue 

and pink diamonds have doubled every 5 

years of a strong economy.   In the 1970’s 

you could have bought a very high quality 

blue diamond for about 50K and today the 

very same stone would be worth between 

2 and 3 million. 

Choosing The Cut of A Diamond

There are many different cuts of diamonds 

to choose from. The cut essentially refers to 

the shape that the diamond is cut into – 

unless you are in the diamond or jewelry 

business, but this shape has a great impact 

on the much the diamond sparkles. 

The most popular cuts are heart, marquise, 

oval, pear, princess, round, trillion, and 

emerald cuts. The shape has an impact on 

how much the diamond sparkles, but the 

actual cutting itself – when the diamond 

cutter actually cuts the diamond into a 

particular shape – also matters a great 

deal. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose 

its sparkle. 

However, in the diamond industry, the cut of 

a diamond doesn’t refer to its shape at all. 

Instead, this is a reference to the stone’s 

depth, width, brilliance, durability, clarity, and 

other aspects of the diamond. Common 

cutting problems include a missing or off 

center culet, misalignment, a diamond that 

is too thick or too thin, cracks, or broken 

culets. 

When shopping for a diamond, you should 

of course choose the shape that you like the 

best, but then look at several different 

diamonds of that shape to find the one with 

the best cut – the one that sparkles the most, 

in all types of lighting.